1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the automated filling and completion of forms such as employment application forms. More specifically, the invention is a computerized system for automated completion of forms that allows paper application forms to be converted to an electronic image, mapped to data items stored in a database, and automatically filled with individual user data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Paper forms, such as employment applications, applications for admission to schools and universities, applications for public or government services, paperwork related to banking and other commercial institutions, and other forms too numerous to identify, are repeatedly encountered in the course of life. Each form must be filled out, and each form often requires entry of substantially the same information as the others. Personal information, for example, including name, address, telephone contact information, and the like, must be entered on virtually every form. Employment applications generally require entry of previous employers. School or university applications require entry of previous education, extra-curricular activities, and the like. It is desirable to devise a system whereby, on completion of a first form, or on entry of a suite of “core information”, form entry information is stored for subsequent recall and use in filling out subsequent applications. Equally important to creating and maintaining a core information database is a system for quick and easy conversion of a paper form into an automatically fillable form image.
Various computer-based systems have been devised for automatically filling out electronic forms, and for generating electronic forms from paper forms.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,700, issued on Jul. 11, 2000 to K. Larsen et al., discloses a data processing system for forms completion in a global information network. The system uses data stored in a database to automatically fill out data fields of the various forms displayed on users' web browsers. Forms in an electronic format, such as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) or PDF, are submitted to the system and parsed by a computer processor to identify data entry fields, matching the data entry fields to data items defined in a common fields database. Unmatched fields, which are fields that appear in the electronic form but aren't matched in the common fields database, are identified in a unique form fields database associated with the form. When a user fills out the form, form field information is stored partly in the common fields database and partly in the unique form field database for the given form.
Thus, according to the '700 invention, when a user needs to fill out the same form again, information may be retrieved from the databases. However, data from the unique form field database is not available for a different form requesting the same information. Thus, where a user wishes to fill out several disparate forms, the automatic completion of forms may be incomplete and may create a redundancy in stored information where data fields that are not part of the common fields database are nonetheless requested on multiple forms. Another drawback of this system is that the automatic parsing of the electronic forms, while quick and efficient, may fail to map entry fields to an appropriate entry in the common fields database if a synonym for an item in the common field database is used in the electronic form but is not recognized by the parser. Further, because the system accepts forms in electronic forms, such as HTML or PDF, the problem of replicating a paper form is not addressed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,537, issued on Sep. 12, 1995 to C. Hirai et al., discloses a method and apparatus for completing a document in accordance with a blank tabularized form document from data automatically retrieved from a database. An image of a blank form is read into the system. A form recognition component recognizes the form of the blank and generates form data indicating the position of entry fields on the form, as well as the data item associated with the entry field.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,026,187, issued on Feb. 15, 2000 to R. Siegel, discloses a system for automatically filling an original form. A user of the system first scans a blank paper form to create and store an image of the paper form within the system as a first document. The first document is displayed overlaid with a second, blank document. The user enters data into the second document, formatting the data to coincide with entry fields in the first document. Once completed, the blank paper form is inserted into a printer and the second document printed out, the entered data aligning with the entry fields of the paper form.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,042, issued on Oct. 1, 2002 to M. Hitchcock et al., discloses a universal forms engine that allows data sharing between customizable on-line forms, such as college admission applications. The system uses, rather than images of existing paper forms, a form description file to define each application form. U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,577, issued on Jun. 17, 1997 to A. Scharmer, discloses a data processing system with automated at least partial forms completion.
U.S. patent Publication No. 2001/0054046, published on Dec. 20, 2001, discloses an automatic forms handling system. Form publishers submit electronic forms, along with associated reports, in a variety of formats including HTML, Extended Markup Language (XML), PDF, and word processing formats. Data entered into the forms by users is not used to complete the present or subsequent form, but is instead used along with accumulated data received from other users to fill in the report associated with the form.
U.S. patent Publication No. 2003/0028792, published on Feb. 6, 2003, discloses a system, method, and computer program product for automatically inputting user data into Internet based electronic forms.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a computerized system for automated completion of forms solving the aforementioned problems is desired.